The hot spring Naganohara Yoimiya had mentioned turned out to be a bathhouse called the Aisa Bathhouse.
Supposedly, the owner had traveled to Natlan, tried the volcanic hot springs there, and opened this place after returning to Inazuma.
The pools were built from Natlan volcanic rock, and the whole place recreated the scenery of Natlan more or less faithfully.
According to the owner's bragging, plenty of big shots from the Tenryou Commission loved coming here to unwind.
The mention of the Tenryou Commission reminded Fang Qiu of the tengu-masked girl who'd arrested the man suspected of being Arataki Itto.
She wondered whether that girl counted as upper brass within the Commission.
After paying the fee, they made their way to the changing room. Quite a few young women were in there, chatting as they changed.
They'd barely stepped inside when they saw a shapely, short-haired girl in a bath towel sneak up behind a girl with long, straight black hair.
"Not bad, Sakura. You've gotten a lot bigger again."
The black-haired girl turned bright red, wrenched herself free of the short-haired girl's grip, spun around, and chopped her on the top of the head.
"I told you not to do that in front of everyone!" the black-haired girl scolded.
"Ow... that hurt."
The short-haired girl clutched her forehead. "Oh, right, Sakura, are you free on the day of the Irodori Festival?"
"No. I'm going to the dojo to practice swordsmanship, so I can become a help to Miss Kamisato as soon as possible."
The black-haired girl shook her head.
"But that's the day Fang Qiu's holding the signing event for her new book. Autographs, signed by her own hand," the short-haired girl said, her tone dripping with temptation.
"Really?"
The black-haired girl's eyes lit up, but she realized almost at once that she'd been tricked and hurriedly composed her face.
"Heh heh heh. You say no with your mouth, Sakura, but your body's still awfully honest, isn't it?"
The short-haired girl leaned in beside the other's ear with a beaming grin and whispered the words.
Then she took a step back, dodging another chop.
So the chop landed squarely on the short-haired girl's chest instead, knocking her tightly wrapped towel loose.
The towel slid down to the floor with a soft swish.
For a moment, the scene was extraordinarily sultry.
"Fang Qiu, it looks like they're fans of yours too."
Naganohara Yoimiya leaned in close to Fang Qiu's ear, eyes full of laughter, and whispered.
"Uh, looks like it."
Fang Qiu's pretty face flushed faintly, because Yoimiya had pressed her whole body against her just to whisper.
A fragrance washed over her.
It was the scent of summer oranges.
Beneath the bandages.
Pressed. Squashed out of shape.
Everything was soft to the touch.
They arrived at the lockers.
Much like the bathhouses in Liyue, the wooden cabinets here had full-length mirrors for dressing and tidying up.
"Whew."
Fang Qiu let out a soft breath and began undressing. The more she took off, the more a faint blush crept over her pretty face.
It wasn't that she was having some kind of strange reaction...
It was that she'd noticed several girls staring at her...
Even the Traveler and Naganohara Yoimiya were doing it...
"What are you all looking at me for?"
Fang Qiu said, blushing, her hand instinctively covering her chest.
Not that her hand could cover much. A great expanse of skin was exposed to the slightly damp air.
"Nothing, nothing. We're just curious what that is you're wearing."
Looking at Fang Qiu's fair skin and alluring curves, Naganohara Yoimiya said with a grin.
"This? It's underwear from Mondstadt. It's really comfortable to wear. I think the Sailing Breeze caravan should have brought in some stock this time, so if we have time, we can go pick some out together."
Fang Qiu smiled as she answered.
"Sounds good. It's a promise, then."
Yoimiya kept grinning as she undressed.
Before long, she was down to nothing but bandages.
Practically spilling out of them.
Fang Qiu wasn't especially fond of people with tattoos, but Yoimiya's didn't make her uncomfortable at all. If anything, they lent her a unique beauty.
Sunny and adorable, yet with a touch of...
"Traveler, why is your face red?" Paimon asked, puzzled.
"Huh? Is it?"
A flicker of panic crossed Lumine's eyes, and she pulled her gaze back from Fang Qiu.
Then she feigned calm. "It's probably just hot in here."
"Is that it?"
Paimon scratched the back of her head, then said eagerly, "It really is kind of muggy. It must be the heat coming off the hot spring. Paimon's already looking forward to it!"
"Yeah."
Lumine nodded, but her eyes slipped over to Fang Qiu again, who was bending over to take off her clothes.
That fair, lovely body lay completely in view.
This body... just yesterday before dawn, it had been half astride her...
That soft touch seemed to linger on her skin still.
Just then, a hand pressed against her forehead.
She snapped out of it. Fang Qiu, who had at some point already wrapped herself in a towel, was standing right in front of her, bent slightly at the waist, her palm resting on Lumine's forehead.
Everywhere Lumine looked was a snowy expanse of white.
Fang Qiu's delicate face was right there, close enough to touch, and a faint, elegant fragrance drifted straight into her nose.
"Traveler, are you all right? Your face keeps getting redder."
Fang Qiu asked with a look of concern. "Are you overworked? Maybe you should head back and rest after the soak."
"N-no, I'm fine. Paimon just asked me, too. It's only a little hot."
Lumine said hurriedly, "Wait for me. I'll get undressed right now."
With that, she started taking off her clothes.
But for some reason, back in Liyue she'd gone to the bathhouse with Fang Qiu, Shenhe, and the others, and she'd felt nothing at all when undressing then.
Now, for some reason, under Fang Qiu's gaze, she felt too shy to bear it.
What was wrong with her?
She was baffled.
Fortunately, Fang Qiu wasn't watching the whole time. She'd turned away to help Klee put her clothes in the locker.
Seizing the chance, Lumine stripped as fast as she could and wrapped herself in a towel.
They all walked into the bathing area together.
The hot spring had been built to look like a natural volcanic one, and a faint smell of sulfur hung in the air.
It was the smell of volcanic rock.
Through the drifting steam, quite a few girls in towels sat quietly enjoying the water.
Their chatter was low, and the place was fairly peaceful.
The two girls from earlier were there too, frolicking in the spring in a small way.
Besides the customers, there were attendants in towels who carried sake and cups on trays floating on the water and served the guests.
As in Liyue's bathhouses, you had to rinse off at the showers before getting into the pool.
Under the gaze of quite a few girls, Fang Qiu washed herself in a hurry and wrapped her towel back on. Once everyone else had finished, they went together to find a spot with few people.
"This one's good. It's my usual spot," Naganohara Yoimiya said.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded lightly. After Yoimiya slipped into the water, she took Klee's hand and stepped into the spring.
The water wasn't deep. It only came up to their thighs.
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